Program Description
The Bachelor of Science in Education in Grades Pre-K-4 Education degree prepares students to teach children at the pre-kindergarten to grade 4 levels. Pennsylvania certification in pre-K to grade 4 education is awarded upon graduation and completion of state certification requirements.
Qualified undergraduate students in the grades pre-K-4 education program may be eligible to participate in the accelerated B.S.Ed.-to-M.Ed. program, which enables them to take graduate courses that apply to both their bachelor's degree and (thereafter) a reading specialist master's degree.
The reading specialist Master of Education program at Cal U is designed for students who want to earn a Master of Education degree and reading specialist certification on their Pennsylvania teaching certificate.
Through the accelerated program, students can complete both degrees at Cal U with a total of 142 credits.
Program Coordinator
Michael Ulderich
Accreditation
These programs are approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Cal U's education programs have also been accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) since 1954, and we are continuing with the successor organization, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). The reading specialist program is also nationally recognized by the International Literacy Association (ILA).
Curriculum
The following curriculum shows the requirements for completing the bachelor's degree under the accelerated B.S.Ed.-to-M.Ed. program. Additional graduate-level courses are required to complete the master's degree; refer to the graduate academic catalog for these requirements.
| Course | Credits |
| General Education Courses | 40 or 41 |
| Building a Sense of Community UNI 100 First-Year Seminar |
1 |
| Composition ENG 101 English Composition I |
3 |
| Public Speaking EDU 350 Supporting English Language Learners |
3 |
| Mathematics and Quantitative Literacy MAT 120 Elementary Topics I |
3 |
| Health and Wellness CHD 250 Health and Physical Education for PreK-Grade 4 |
3 |
| Technological Literacy EDU 333 Technology for Teaching and Learning |
3 |
| Humanities ESP 210 Special Education Foundations and Collaboration |
3 |
| Fine Arts MUS/ART/THE 372 Creative Arts for PreK-4 |
3 |
| Natural Sciences Approved Natural Sciences Course with Lab |
3 or 4 |
| Social Sciences GEO 102 Geographic Systems for Elementary Education (1 credit) AND POS 102 American Government for Elementary Education (1 credit) AND ECO 102 Economics for Elementary Education (1 credit) |
3 |
| Ethics and Multicultural Emphasis CHD 350 Family and Community Collaborations |
3 |
General Education Options
|
9 |
| Required Major Courses | 60 |
| CHD 200 Intro to PreK-Grade 8 Education | 3 |
| ELE 220 Instruction and Assessment in PreK | 3 |
| ELE 221 Instruction and Assessment in K-4 | 3 |
| ELE 300 Emergent Literacy | 3 |
| ELE 301 Literacy Foundations I: Lang Arts* | 3 |
| ELE 302 Literacy Foundations II: Reading* | 3 |
| ELE 310 Teaching PreK STEAM | 3 |
| ELE 311 Teaching Math K-4* | 3 |
| CHD 312 Leadership and Advocacy in Childhood Ed | 3 |
| ELE 321 Teaching Science K-4* | 3 |
| ELE 331 Teaching Social Studies K-4* | 3 |
| EDU 375 Introduction to Integrated STEM Education | 3 |
| ELE 410 PreK-4 Field Experience | 3 |
| ELE 411 K-4 Field Experience* | 3 |
| CHD 413 Content Area Literacy Field Experience* |
3 |
| CHD 450 Assessment and Data Literacy* | 3 |
| ELM 461 Student Teaching and School Law* | 12 |
| Required Related Courses | 12 |
| ESP 311 Assessment and Positive Behavior Interventions | 3 |
| ESP 412 Evidence Based Practices* | 3 |
| PSY 205 Child Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 208 Educational Psychology | 3 |
| Free Electives | 9 |
| RSP 700 Fundamentals of Literacy | 3 |
| RSP 707 Creating and Fostering Literate Environments | 3 |
| RSP 708 Literacy Dev. for ELL | 3 |
| Total | 121 |
Additional requirements, not counted toward the General Education requirements, include:
- Special Experience Course (1 course required): ELE 461 Student Teaching PreK-Grade 4
- Writing-Intensive Component Courses (2 courses required): ELE 410 PreK-4 Field Experience AND ELE 411 K-4 Field Experience
- Laboratory Course (1 course required): Approved Natural Sciences Course with Lab
* Pre-requisite for all courses marked with an asterisk is Admission to Teacher Education.
Program Notes:
- All courses required for certification must earn C or better.
- CHD 200 and ELE 220 require current clearances and minimum 2.0 GPA to register for courses.
- ALL other EDU, ELE, ESP and CHD courses require current clearances and minimum 2.5 GPA to register for courses.
- Candidates must follow policies for Admission to Teacher Education as stated in the Teacher Education Handbook.
- Pre-requisites for ELE 221 and all 300 level ELE and CHD courses are ELE 200 and ELE 220.
- State licensure exams must be passed before student teaching.
- Current clearances are required prior to enrolling in program courses.
- Undergraduate students must achieve at least junior standing to take graduate-level coursework.
- Approved American/British Literature Courses are: ENG 107, 125, 127, 148, 150, 155, 160, 203, 301, 302, 337, 338 and HON 250. (HON 250 has a pre-requisite of HON 150; the 300-level ENG courses have pre-requisites of ENG 101 and 102.)
Additional Requirements
Students accepted into a teacher certification program must be admitted to Teacher Education before they may register for upper-level, restricted courses. Please refer to the Teacher Education Program Student Handbook for details on Admission to Teacher Education requirements.
Undergraduate students in the accelerated program may register for no more than 6 graduate credits in any one term, and in terms when a graduate course is registered, the student may not register for more than 18 total credits.
It is the student’s responsibility to apply and meet the qualifications of the graduate program portion of the accelerated program. Failure to follow through with enrollment in the accelerated graduate program will result in additional undergraduate credits to complete the bachelor’s degree, as outlined in the Undergraduate Credit for Graduate Courses policy.
Additional accelerated program requirements may be found at: https://www.calu.edu/inside/forms/_files/academic-affairs/accelerated-program-application.pdf